4 Different Types of Learning Disabilities and What To Watch Out For
The thought of your child having a learning disability can be panic-inducing. Learning disabilities can be frustrating for kids and challenging for parents and teachers.
The good news is that learning disabilities are extremely common and treatable. And contrary to popular belief, they are not a measure of intelligence. Learning differences like dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and ADHD are a result of the way a person’s brain is wired—specifically the areas used to process information and make connections.
The more you know about the different types of learning disabilities, the better you will be able to get your child the help they need. Here are four common types of learning disabilities and the symptoms to watch for.
Dyslexia
What Is Dyslexia?
Along with ADHD, dyslexia is one of the most well-known learning disorders. It’s also the most common, affecting 5-12% of the population.
Dyslexia affects how language is processed and makes reading, reading comprehension, writing, spelling, and grammar difficult. Kids with dyslexia can also sometimes have trouble with verbal expression.
Like many learning disabilities, dyslexia is often hereditary. At the root of dyslexia is weak phonemic awareness—the ability to hear and manipulate the phonemes in language. Phonemes are the smallest units of sound that distinguish one word from another—i.e., bad vs bat.
Problems with working memory play a role in dyslexia as well.
What To Watch For
Children with dyslexia may:
- Avoid reading
- Use pictures to figure out what the text says, instead of reading it
- Rely on memorization rather than reading
- Opt for video or audio versions of books
- Struggle to remember what was just read
- Have difficulty pronouncing new words
- Have trouble transferring what they hear to what they see (and vice versa)
- Experience letter sound confusion (beg, bag, etc)
- Struggle with poor spelling
Dysgraphia
What Is Dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia affects a child’s writing skills. Impaired writing skills can, in turn, affect a child’s writing speed and ability to learn to spell.
Children with this learning disability may have impaired handwriting, impaired spelling (without reading struggles), or both.
In people with dysgraphia, the orthographic coding in working memory is often impaired. This is the ability to create a permanent memory of written words linked to their pronunciation and meaning. Genetics may be a factor in this learning disability as well.
What To Watch For
Kids with dysgraphia may have:
- Slow, labor-intensive handwriting
- Handwriting that’s hard to read
- Trouble putting thoughts into writing
- Problems with spelling, grammar, or punctuation
- Difficulty planning sequential finger movements (like touching the thumb to each finger of the same hand without looking)
Dyscalculia
What Is Dyscalculia?
Someone with dyscalculia will struggle with numbers and math. They might find it difficult to understand simple number concepts, have trouble with key ideas like bigger vs smaller, and struggle to do basic math problems.
Though science hasn’t yet nailed down the root cause of dyscalculia, it tends to run in families and seems to be a problem with poor visual processing and memory skills (including both working and long-term memory).
What To Watch For
Young children may have trouble learning to count and recognizing numbers. As they get older, they may:
- Struggle to grasp and remember math concepts
- Show confusion over math symbols
- Reverse or transpose numbers
- Have trouble with sequencing
- Rely on calculators or look up answers online or in the back of the book rather than doing the calculations themselves
- Have trouble telling time
- Struggle with recognizing directions
ADHD
What Is ADHD?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a broad term that encompasses several attention deficit disorders, including:
- Inattentive ADHD (a.k.a., ADD)
- Hyperactive-Impulsive ADHD
- Combined ADHD: Symptoms of both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD
It is a neurological condition that presents as a variety of attention, impulse control, and hyperactivity symptoms.
At its root, ADHD is the result of weak attention skills (including sustained, divided, or selective attention, or a combination of them).
What To Watch For
The symptoms of ADHD may vary depending on which type of the condition a child has. For inattentive ADHD (ADD), they may:
- Ask friends for notes
- Look up answers online
- Rely on parental help to stay organized
The symptoms of hyperactive ADHD fit more with the typical understanding of ADHD:
- Fidgeting, overactivity, or squirming
- Jumping from one activity to another without finishing their work
- Becoming easily distracted by activities unrelated to what they’re working on
- Frequently asking for a bathroom pass or finding other excuses to leave their seat in class
LearningRx Can Help Strengthen the Cognitive Skills Associated With Learning Disabilities
If your child is showing a pattern of some of these behaviors, consider bringing them in for a Cognitive Skills Assessment at LearningRx.
While we don’t diagnose learning disabilities, we can offer customized brain training programs to help strengthen the cognitive skills associated with them. We can help children with these types of learning disabilities improve their symptoms and enjoy better academic performance.
